The story of rice noodles in Tan Ha B...

At noon in May, the scorching sun poured down on Tan Ha B hamlet, Tan Hiep commune, Tan Hiep district (Kien Giang province). On the spacious brick yard behind the ground-floor house, the white rice noodles were dried neatly under the sunlight. An old man with gray hair and sweaty shirt was diligently turning each tray of noodles to make sure they were evenly exposed to the sun. No signboard, no brand, but the rice noodles he made were the “family secret” of many restaurants from Tan Hiep to Rach Gia.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuyen personally dries noodles in the midday sun.

The man's name is Nguyen Quoc Chuyen, 70 years old, owner of a rice noodle factory - a familiar yet strange name in an unnamed craft village. "God gave me that opportunity, son", Mr. Chuyen smiled, saying as he gently removed some noodles stuck together - "At that time, I didn't know anything about this profession!". He said, about fifteen years ago, on a trip to the North, he happened to visit a rice noodle factory. Attracted by the aroma of cooked rice flour and the white noodles drying in the sun, he boldly asked to learn the trade. The factory owner did not accept to teach, but did not chase him away either, letting him stand... and watch "outside". "Seeing people doing it, I memorized every step, watching them mix the flour, press the noodles, and dry them. I learned the trade first, then went home and did it myself", he said, his voice calm.

Back home, he gathered all his savings, exactly 20 million VND, to buy machinery and start experimenting. But “life is not like the movies”. The dough was soggy, the cakes were broken, and the noodles did not form. The whole family saw him try and fail, and everyone was discouraged. As for him, he continued to work silently. “I poured so much rice, it was no fun. But I was addicted, I couldn’t give up”, he said, smiling both sadly and proudly. After half a year of “self-studying” and self-testing, he succeeded. The first batch of noodles that came out of the oven was white, soft, fragrant, and chewy, surprising the whole family.

“To make rice noodles, the most important thing is to know how to choose the rice. If the rice is not good, the noodles will not be chewy or clear, and you will know right away when you eat it,” Mr. Chuyen explained. He specializes in choosing the right type of sticky rice, not too new or too old, so that when milled, it will have a natural stickiness. All the flour is carefully filtered, without using additives. Thanks to that, his noodles are always inspected and certified for food safety by the authorities. “People can eat without worrying about chemicals, that is the virtue of the person who makes the dish,” Mr. Chuyen said. Unlike many places that still do it manually, his facility has mechanized the flour milling and cake pressing steps. But the most important step of drying the noodles - the most important part - is still kept the traditional way: drying them in the sun for 2 days. He once tried a dryer to be more proactive in the rainy season, but failed. “Machine drying makes the noodles dry and hard, when cooked they don’t absorb the broth, and when eaten they don’t taste good,” he shook his head, emphasizing: “Sun drying is the soul of the noodles.” Therefore, every rainy season, he accepts stopping production for a few days, rather than run out of goods than do it carelessly.

Currently, his small noodle factory is the "living place" of the whole family of 5. His son - Mr. Nguyen Kieu Hung is the one who directly operates the machine, Mr. Hung's wife sits and cuts the rice cakes, arranges them to stir-fry. After drying in the sun, the noodles are bundled into 200gr bundles to be delivered to regular customers. Every day, the facility produces about 100kg of noodles, the selling price is 17,000 VND/kg, unchanged for the past few years. "People have been buying from us for a long time, we cannot see the shortage and then raise the price. We live off customers, so we have to think about them," - Mr. Chuyen said firmly.

After deducting the cost of rice, electricity and water, the family earns about 1 million VND per day. Not rich, but he said: "I have food and a job near home for my children. That's happiness." Without a signboard, without the need for social media promotion, Mr. Chuyen's rice noodle shop is still trusted by many restaurants. Regular customers are mainly noodle shops, noodle soup shops, beef noodle shops in Tan Hiep, Giong Rieng, even people from Rach Gia City come to get their products. Many people suggested that he print packaging and register a trademark to sell further. He smiled: "I'm old, I'll think about it when someone else continues. For now, I'll make as much as I can, and my regular customers will eat it all." On the stovetop, the noodles gradually turn white, shimmering like silk. In the blazing sun of the countryside, Mr. Chuyen still works hard to turn each tray of noodles. His hands were calloused, but his passion for the profession never cooled.

Article and photos: DANG LINH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/chuyen-soi-hu-tieu-o-tan-ha-b--a187536.html